The next Call of Duty: Ghosts map pack is coming April 3 — with a giant Kraken

Activision Publishing and Infinity Ward unveiled the second major downloadable content (DLC) for Call of Duty: Ghosts today. The Devastation pack will come with four new multiplayer maps, a new weapon, and the second episode in the four-part Extinction saga. It will appear exclusively first on Xbox Live April 3.

The Extinction saga, where you battle giant bug-like creatures in cooperative mode, features a 100-foot tall Cryptid alien boss, known as the Kraken. The map packs are a huge part of the Call of Duty ecosystem. Their purpose is not only to generate revenues, but to keep players engaged with the multiplayer version of the game for most of the year. It is key to the game’s continued domination of the multibillion-dollar first-person shooter genre.

Above: Call of Duty: Ghosts Collision map

Image Credit: Activision

The Devastation pack will be available first for Xbox One and Xbox 360 players. It has four new small-to-medium-sized maps, including a mountaintop Mayan temple, a mangled container ship that has crashed into a bridge, a giant excavation digger in South America, and a re-creation of the Dome map from Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3. Each has a new Field Order.

The Extinction episode is a game within a game. Episode 2: Mayday is part of a narrative co-op game which includes modable versions of the Venom-X weapon. You’ll battle the giant Kraken as it dives in and out of the water.

The DLC also features a new weapon called the Ripper, a tactical 2-in-1 weapon that is available today for season pass owners on Xbox Live. The Ripper is a weapon that converts from a submachine gun (SMG) to an assault rifle in the middle of combat. Players can use it in all Call of Duty: Ghosts multiplayer maps.

Devastation is available by itself for $14.99 or as part of a year-long $50 Call of Duty: Ghosts DLC season pass. A demo of the Ghosts multiplayer will be available for gamers to play over this weekend, starting Friday and running through Monday. Players will be able to play three multiplayer maps (Strikezone, Warhawk, and Prison Break) at no cost.

Above: Call of Duty: Ghosts Unearthed

Image Credit: Activision

“The Devastation DLC Pack continues the fast-paced, fun, and imaginative gameplay that Infinity Ward and Neversoft began with Onslaught,” said Daniel Suarez, the vice president of production for Activision Publishing. “Ghosts’ DLC is much more than just new multiplayer maps. The teams have added new weapons; the next intense continuation in Extinction’s four-part, episodic narrative; and another epic, action film character soon to be revealed. Devastation, like Onslaught before it, is a ton of fun, and we can’t wait for the community to experience it all.”

In the Ruins map, you play= in a Mayan temple on a mountain with multiple vertical levels. The Field Order will permit one side to trigger the map’s volcano to erupt and rain molten lava down on enemy players.

The Collision map is a run-and-gun battle on a ship that has collided with a bridge. The Field Order enables one side take control of an A-10 Warthog tank-killer aircraft and cause havoc on the ground. The Behemoth map has long sight lines for snipers with interior control rooms suitable for SMGs and shotguns. The Field Order gives players control of an attack helicopter with an armor-piercing rail gun. And the Unearthed map drops players into a reimagined version of Dome from Modern Warfare 3. Players have to navigate an alien artifact dig site and use the Field Order to unleash alien Cryptids on enemies.

The Extinction episode picks up after the dramatic events that took place deep within the Alaskan wilderness at the Nightfall Program research facility. The Quick Reaction Force team now heads onboard a mysterious Chinese research vessel drifting abandoned in the Tasman Sea in the South Pacific Ocean. Players will uncover a much deeper conspiracy as they pursue Captain Archer and discover what has become of Doctor Cross. And of course, they will battle the giant Kraken.